Some Things Wisconsin Golf

[ode1]

On 8/14/2023 at 1:58 PM, doglegs said:

Lawsonia's fairways were rough..

Were they burnt out/brown?  Been a rough year in many parts of the state with it being dry and warm.  I'm in NE Wisco and my home course was watering after the last tee time and before the first for several weeks straight  leading up to the past few weeks....we have since gotten enough rain to put a stop to that.  Despite these efforts there were quite a few trouble spots.  No excuse for a top 100 course as they should have the budget to deal with it.  

[doglegs]

2 hours ago, ode said:

Were they burnt out/brown?  Been a rough year in many parts of the state with it being dry and warm.  I'm in NE Wisco and my home course was watering after the last tee time and before the first for several weeks straight  leading up to the past few weeks....we have since gotten enough rain to put a stop to that.  Despite these efforts there were quite a few trouble spots.  No excuse for a top 100 course as they should have the budget to deal with it.  

Not burnt out/brown... literally destroyed like they need to be returfed in some areas.  Picture the middle of the fairway being green and yes, playable, but the edges near the first cut literally brown dirt without a hint of grass.  They had cart arrows on most holes pointing you towards the middle of the fairways to keep you off the troublesome spots.  If that course was nearby home (and cheaper) I would be out there regularly.  But going out of the way on a golf trip was not worth it.  Plenty of great golf near Kohler.

Edited August 17, 2023 by doglegs

[nalaws2]

Hilarious trying to compare Kohler to Lawsonia.  Give me Lawsonia at $125 all day EVERY day over Kohler's 3/4/5/$600 rounds, insanely overpriced rooms, and night minimums.    

[Shipwreck]

1 hour ago, nalaws2 said:

Hilarious trying to compare Kohler to Lawsonia.  Give me Lawsonia at $125 all day EVERY day over Kohler's 3/4/5/$600 rounds, insanely overpriced rooms, and night minimums.    

I was lucky to book the first twilight rounds at Straits on the 26th. In order for our group to play Straits during the day on the 26th, we would have had to stay in the only open resort, which was their 5 start 5 diamond resort, 3 night minimum. What. The. F**********ck!!!

[eboettne]

1 hour ago, nalaws2 said:

Hilarious trying to compare Kohler to Lawsonia.  Give me Lawsonia at $125 all day EVERY day over Kohler's 3/4/5/$600 rounds, insanely overpriced rooms, and night minimums.    

2 words... shoulder season

 

Stayed at the Inn on Woodlake and played a round at The Straits, The Irish, The River & Blackwolf Run for under $1k. Kohler can be affordable if you work at it a bit.

[Shipwreck]

16 minutes ago, eboettne said:

2 words... shoulder season

 

Stayed at the Inn on Woodlake and played a round at The Straits, The Irish, The River & Blackwolf Run for under $1k. Kohler can be affordable if you work at it a bit.

Yeah unfortunately I chose peak season to go play Wisconsin golf (stupid 40th birthday), but with the lineup I chose, grand total for each player w/ airfare, car rental, airbnbs and golf it’ll be right around $2500 which for 7 rounds of golf I don’t think is too shabby. A group of us are doing Bandon in 2025 and it’s gonna cost about $6-7k. Oof. 

[doglegs]

3 hours ago, nalaws2 said:

Hilarious trying to compare Kohler to Lawsonia.  Give me Lawsonia at $125 all day EVERY day over Kohler's 3/4/5/$600 rounds, insanely overpriced rooms, and night minimums.    

Lawsonia was $135.  Not exactly cheap for those conditions.  Plus its in the middle of nowhere.  I have local publics in far better shape in the same price bracket.

[ldchristopher]

26 minutes ago, doglegs said:

Lawsonia was $135.  Not exactly cheap for those conditions.  Plus its in the middle of nowhere.  I have local publics in far better shape in the same price bracket.

My experience has been the same at Lawsonia. Interesting green complexes but there is always lots of crab grass, rock-filled bunkers and they chop the fescue down much earlier than other prairie, links or faux links courses. At $40 or $50 in the Spring? Maybe. But to drive to the middle of nowhere to pay over $100 for poor conditions? Nope. Compare it to Washington County, which is cheaper but gets more play. Washington County is immaculate. It’s clear that, yes, they’re making money. However, they’re also pumping funds into the course. I get that Lawsonia is much, much older and therefore in need of a lot more TLC. But at $125 to $135 per round, the money should be there to improve the course. Instead it mirrors a muni where course quality varies wildly based on the weather. 

[klebs01]

11 hours ago, doglegs said:

Lawsonia was $135.  Not exactly cheap for those conditions.  Plus its in the middle of nowhere.  I have local publics in far better shape in the same price bracket.

brown is beautiful. Wish it was still that way for my trip up there this weekend. Sucks we just got a bunch of rain and it’s going to green up. 

[collje26]

I play lawsonia every day and I would agree that brown>green. They typically let the course burn out and play as it's designed but with the expansion of fairways and cart traffic it has gotten beat up.

[Shipwreck]

3 hours ago, collje26 said:

I play lawsonia every day and I would agree that brown>green. They typically let the course burn out and play as it's designed but with the expansion of fairways and cart traffic it has gotten beat up.

So would you say it’s still worth it to play (both courses) or try and find something else?

[klebs01]

12 hours ago, Shipwreck said:

So would you say it’s still worth it to play (both courses) or try and find something else?

played it yesterday and will play it again today. The conditions were good. Wish I would have played it a few days ago before the rain and when it was really brown. Ground game was definitely in effect. Greens were nice and firm. definitely think it’s still worth playing. 

[collje26]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:58 PM, Shipwreck said:

So would you say it’s still worth it to play (both courses) or try and find something else?

100% I don't know what they're charging for an all day rate as I'm a member out there but it's by far the best value in Wisconsin for quality golf.

[Shipwreck]

50 minutes ago, collje26 said:

100% I don't know what they're charging for an all day rate as I'm a member out there but it's by far the best value in Wisconsin for quality golf.

I believe it’s $180 for the all day

[collje26]

7 hours ago, Shipwreck said:

I believe it’s $180 for the all day

I would say it’s still worth that and then some. 

[jwhite86]

Played The Bull on Saturday... Course was in phenomenal condition.  The amount of bunkers they pulled still blows my mind 

[Shipwreck]

2 minutes ago, jwhite86 said:

Played The Bull on Saturday... Course was in phenomenal condition.  The amount of bunkers they pulled still blows my mind 

I don’t feel the Bull gets the love it deserves. Granted I’m speaking from of position as a player whose local courses have 30 yards of fairway and unlimited amounts of desert and rocks past that but there isn’t a hole on that course that I don’t love or doesn’t provide some sort of great challenge. It lulls you in with 2 straight forward holes then the fun begins!!!

[ode1]

6 minutes ago, jwhite86 said:

The amount of bunkers they pulled still blows my mind 

As in filled in🤔. Curious which ones.....I have not played since the new ownership.

[jwhite86]

11 minutes ago, ode said:

As in filled in🤔. Curious which ones.....I have not played since the new ownership.

 

Off the top of my head

4: FW Bunkers left are about half as big
6: Greenside right one was removed

8: 1 FW Bunker removed

10: FW Bunker straight ahead off the tee filled in, greenside bunker is half the size

11: FW Bunkers on the right FW all all gone

12: At least 3 greenside bunkers were filled or shrunk

13: Left FW bunker is a quarter of the size, the FW bunker straight off the tee is about half the size

14: The furthest right FW bunker was removed

17: The bunkers long of the green are gone

18: About half as many FW bunkers

 

The course still plays tough, but, it's not as visually demanding as it used to be... but for $120 as a county resident, it's a great deal

[Shipwreck]

20 minutes ago, jwhite86 said:

 

Off the top of my head

4: FW Bunkers left are about half as big
6: Greenside right one was removed

8: 1 FW Bunker removed

10: FW Bunker straight ahead off the tee filled in, greenside bunker is half the size

11: FW Bunkers on the right FW all all gone

12: At least 3 greenside bunkers were filled or shrunk

13: Left FW bunker is a quarter of the size, the FW bunker straight off the tee is about half the size

14: The furthest right FW bunker was removed

17: The bunkers long of the green are gone

18: About half as many FW bunkers

 

The course still plays tough, but, it's not as visually demanding as it used to be... but for $120 as a county resident, it's a great deal

Oh wow. That definitely takes some teeth out of it. I know here in Tucson, if a place gets rid of bunkers it’s mainly due to them being difficult to maintain due to poor drainage or something. 

[ode1]

55 minutes ago, jwhite86 said:

 

Off the top of my head

4: FW Bunkers left are about half as big
6: Greenside right one was removed

8: 1 FW Bunker removed

10: FW Bunker straight ahead off the tee filled in, greenside bunker is half the size

11: FW Bunkers on the right FW all all gone

12: At least 3 greenside bunkers were filled or shrunk

13: Left FW bunker is a quarter of the size, the FW bunker straight off the tee is about half the size

14: The furthest right FW bunker was removed

17: The bunkers long of the green are gone

18: About half as many FW bunkers

 

The course still plays tough, but, it's not as visually demanding as it used to be... but for $120 as a county resident, it's a great deal

Thanks.....will have to digest this info for a bit!

[jwhite86]

35 minutes ago, Shipwreck said:

Oh wow. That definitely takes some teeth out of it. I know here in Tucson, if a place gets rid of bunkers it’s mainly due to them being difficult to maintain due to poor drainage or something. 

Yeah, I think it was a complete cost cutting thing with the new ownership.  They replaced all the drain tile underneath and laid sod of the top.  Some of them weren't really in play, which makes sense.  However, a couple of the bunkers in play off the tee didn't make much sense, other than maybe speeding up pace of play.

[ode1]

9 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

4: FW Bunkers left are about half as big

An improvement 

 

9 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

6: Greenside right one was removed

Hmmm, not sure would have to see it, that par 3 is a beast, left is dead, short and right is a very tough up and in, you can miss long and pin high right if the  pin is center or back, but forget quote getting up and down if the pin is anywhere but back.  I can see it as an improvement as this hole is very penal if you miss the green.....but IMO not much of one.

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

 

8: 1 FW Bunker removed

Thank god, not much of a window to hit off the tee

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

10: FW Bunker straight ahead off the tee filled in, greenside bunker is half the size

I think you are referring to the right bunker, if so then glad they got rid of it, it was a monstrosity as was the greenside bunker, nothing worse than having a long.bu ker shot greenside that stays in the bunker.  The left fairway bunker is enough on that hole along with a renovated greenside bunker short and right.

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

11: FW Bunkers on the right FW all all gone

Are you referring to the bunkers over the pond? If so then yes to that as the risk of taking on the pond is enough.  If you are referring to the fwy bunker on the right playing it traditional then I'd be fine with that too, as I never really saw the value in it as the entire right side is protected by the pond.

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

 

12: At least 3 greenside bunkers were filled or shrunk

Front right and back left both too big, those back right bunkers are overkill (hopefully they got rid if one of them) and the one way left🤔......I mean seriously Jack WTF, that one is adding insult to injury to an already seriously bad shot. 

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

13: Left FW bunker is a quarter of the size, the FW bunker straight off the tee is about half the size

The left fwy bunker complex is a monstrosity,  way too big, if I remember correctly there were two sets right, again overkill.

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

 

14: The furthest right FW bunker was removed

Again two sets (if I remember correctly) right next to each other is overkill

 

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

17: The bunkers long of the green are gone

 

I don't remember any long,but it is well protected short which is probably a good thing.

10 hours ago, jwhite86 said:

: About half as many FW bunkers

I remember two sets right cut into the hill.  That hole is brutal as is, hopefully they got rid of the first one.

 

Seems like an effort to make it more playable as well as get rid of some of the massive bunkers which are likely a pain to keep up, as well as some of the bunkers that are mostly pointless.

[Phreddy]

I walked 18 today and I was toast.  Drank at least 6 bottles of water and still felt empty.  The scorecard got pretty ugly mid-round as well.  BUT, it looks like a front will move through Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and we will have mid 60's to mid 70's for at least a week.  I know it sort of sucks when the leaves come down and anything off the fairway is hard to find, but if I could have 12 months of mid/late September weather I would be in hog heaven.

 

Play well!

 

Phred

[TexasTitleistUser]

Coming to Wisconsin early May in ‘24. Is Lawsonia Links usually in good shape at that time? Also how is Erin Hills at that time? 

[TBone0576]

10 hours ago, TexasTitleistUser said:

Coming to Wisconsin early May in ‘24. Is Lawsonia Links usually in good shape at that time? Also how is Erin Hills at that time? 

May is always a crapshoot weather wise.   The courses should be in pretty decent shape by then if there wasn't a lot of late snow on the ground.  

[smeech8000]

Hey all - preparing for upcoming Kohler trip next month and need to book Wednesday night lodging somewhere between Milwaukee and Kohler.  Any recommendations?

[ESOX ZO]

18 hours ago, smeech8000 said:

Hey all - preparing for upcoming Kohler trip next month and need to book Wednesday night lodging somewhere between Milwaukee and Kohler.  Any recommendations?

Anything in particular you are looking for in terms of lodging? Port Washington pretty much your halfway point. 

[TBone0576]

Played The Brute at Grand Geneva for the first time on Friday.  Living in Kenosha I am surprised the chance never came up to tee it up out there.   I've done the Geneva National courses, Hawks View and even Big Foot CC once.  Kind of a hidden gem back there, couldn't believe all the hotel and condo space packing on the property and the elevation changes are definitely something I'm not used to.  Played the middle tees which are like 6550 or so.  Generous fairways but rarely a flat lie and lots of hitting up or down to greens which is fun I guess.  Greens are obscenely large so while you feel good hitting them you often have very long putts.  Everything slopes back to front with various difficulties.  The sand is plentiful.  Got into one fairway bunker and one greenside bunker.  Very coarse sand, like beach sand almost.  Didn't really like it much at all and don't remember playing other courses with sand like that.   I carded a 75 which in the end I was thrilled with.  Wouldn't run back there but maybe a place I would check out every other year or something.  Not sure how different the Highlands is.  

[Pepetito]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:05 AM, TBone0576 said:

Played The Brute at Grand Geneva for the first time on Friday.  Living in Kenosha I am surprised the chance never came up to tee it up out there.   I've done the Geneva National courses, Hawks View and even Big Foot CC once.  Kind of a hidden gem back there, couldn't believe all the hotel and condo space packing on the property and the elevation changes are definitely something I'm not used to.  Played the middle tees which are like 6550 or so.  Generous fairways but rarely a flat lie and lots of hitting up or down to greens which is fun I guess.  Greens are obscenely large so while you feel good hitting them you often have very long putts.  Everything slopes back to front with various difficulties.  The sand is plentiful.  Got into one fairway bunker and one greenside bunker.  Very coarse sand, like beach sand almost.  Didn't really like it much at all and don't remember playing other courses with sand like that.   I carded a 75 which in the end I was thrilled with.  Wouldn't run back there but maybe a place I would check out every other year or something.  Not sure how different the Highlands is.  

What resort golf do you collectively feel is better?

Grand Geneva (with Hawks View added in) or the three at Geneva National.